Saturday, Sept. 17

* Montreal Independent Games Festival
* Double vernissage at Pangée
* Global Citizen concert feat. Usher, Grimes, Half Moon Run & more
* Opéra de Montréal’s production of Verdi’s Aida
* Mess Around vintage R&B/soul dance party
* Cousins QTPOC hip hop DJ night

aida-anna-markarova-et-amneris-olesya-petrova-yves-renaud

Anna Markarova and Amneris Olesya Petrova in Aida. Photo by Yves Renaud

Play creative and innovative new video games at the annual Montreal Independent Games Festival. Dawson College (3040 Sherbrooke W.), 10 a.m.–6 p.m., free

Head to Projet Pangée in the Belgo building for the vernissage for Low Class Minimalism and the Gentrified Amateur, a solo show from Filipino-Canadian artist Patrick Cruz (winner of the 2015 RBC Canadian Painting Competition) that will bring painting and sculpture together to create an elaborate, immersive environment inspired by the animals and atmospheres of the wild. 372 Ste-Catherine W., #412, 3–6 p.m., free

Usher, Half Moon Run, Grimes, Sam Roberts, Metric, Charlotte Cardin and Bobby Bazini play the Bell Centre as part of Global Citizen, a benefit concert raising money to end HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Bell Centre (1909 Avenue des Canadiens de Montréal), 7 p.m., $103.50/$171 VIP

Ever been to the opera? Opéra de Montréal’s production of Verdi’s Aida wouldn’t be a bad place to start. Directed by Francois Racine and starring Russian soprano Anna Markarova and Bulgarian tenor Kamen Chanev, the ancient Egyptian odyssey begins tonight and will be performed on Sept. 20, 22 and 24. Place des Arts, Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier (175 Ste-Catherine W.), 7:30 p.m., $91.25/$153.25

Get your groove on at this month’s edition of Mess Around, an all-vinyl dance party featuring vintage R&B and soul cuts from the 1960s with DJs New Breed Nick and Ben Shulman. Le Divan Orange, 4324 St-Laurent, 10 p.m., $8

Art/activist QTPOC collective Babely Shades does a takeover of the recurring Cousins DJ night, promising another “LIT line-up of local femme/queer DJs of colour” — namely Debby Friday, Gayance, Pituca Putica — playing dancehall, reggaeton, hip hop and other shades of dance music. Bar le Ritz PDB (179 Jean-Talon W.), 11 p.m., $10/$15/PWYC/no one turned away

For more concert recommendations for tonight and into next week, see Hammer of the Mods.

See our Event Listings for more concert, nightlife, theatre, comedy and community event options. See our Art Listings here.